Tranquility in the Forest
by Dunedan
Summary: My entry for Ramachan's Fan Fiction contest depicting Shikamaru and Temari with their children


**This is my contest entry for Ramachan's Fan Fiction Contest. It was such an honor to be allowed to enter =)**

A sense of calm had settled across the village of Konoha, through all the battles and hardship peace had finally been won for all. With this newfound peace the families of Konoha, both the old and the new, were taking full advantage of their chance at happiness.

The sun was shining over the Nara Clan Forest, much as it had been over the many days, and those who knew of its tranquility intimately had decided to throw a small picnic.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Kushina shouted, pulling out a trio of Barbie dolls from behind her back, placing them squarely in front of the lone Ken doll.

"You cannot beat me," Ayaka replied using as deep a tone as her five-year-old voice could muster. She proceeded to shake the doll in as threatening a manner as possible in the direction of her orange-haired twin.

"Too bad Hatsune had to play with those deer, she's missing all the fun," Kushina laughed, moving her Barbie towards Ken.

The two giggled as they shook their respective dolls, it came as a great shock when the three Barbie suddenly started to move on their own.

"How'd you do that? Ayaka asked, looking into Kushina's eyes with wonder.

"Don't look at me, the byakugan can't do anything like this, however… BYAKUGAN!"

As Kushina looked at the dolls with her byakugan she saw the distinct trail of chakra strings emanating from them, leading towards a nearby tree.

A soft giggling came from the tree as a small raven-haired girl stepped out from behind it, moving her hands as if she were controlling a series of marionettes, a pair of Nara Clan deer accompanied her.

"Wow," the sisters uttered simultaneously before Kushina continued. "How do you do that Hatsune?"

"A little trick from Uncle Kankuro," she smiled, moving her hands once more in a puppeteer-like manner.

The three Barbie proceeded, under Hatsune's supervision, to deliver a series of kicks into Ken's head, knocking him to the ground.

The three girls couldn't help but laugh together, each grabbing a doll as they continued their playful struggle among the trees.

A short distance from the girls, two boys sat upon the sturdy branches of a tree overlooking them. One absentmindedly whittling on a small chunk of wood, the other spinning a wooden Kunai gazing up at the sky.

"Asuma, girls are weird," the first muttered, continuing to whittle away at the block of wood in his hands.

"Yea," the two-year-old muttered, it had come to little surprise that Shikamaru's son could speak at such a young age; however he was so much like his father that most rarely noticed he could. "Dad says girls are troublesome until I'm the right age, I hope that's far off."

"Why do they play with dolls when they can be getting ready for real weapons?" the boy wondered, brushing orange hair away from his ears.

"Who knows, grandpa's told me that it is impossible for boys to understand girls, that we shouldn't even try… but sis is all right…for a girl."

"And they are totally getting the fight wrong, if I were fighting three shadow clones I wouldn't just stand there and take kicks to the face!"

Little Asuma continued to stare at the near-cloudless sky; though his attention was focused on above he expertly twirled a wooden Kunai on his finger.

"If only there were more clouds out today…"

"I can have another kunai carved by tonight, this way we'll be ready when we're are old enough to use real ones."

"Thanks Jiraiya," Asuma smiled, leaning his head back against the trunk. Jiraiya was only four years older, but his carvings were so realistic they couldn't help but spar with them when Asuma didn't consider it too much trouble.

With a soft flick of his tiny wrist Asuma tossed the Kunai towards the ground, barely missing the bulls-eye drawn on the grass, eye twitching slightly as he contained his annoyance.

Across the forest, yet still within safe sight distance sat two couples seated on a large picnic cloth in a sunlit meadow happily enjoying the food and each others company while keeping an eye on the kids.

"Little Jiraiya is certainly getting better isn't he?" Naruto remarked, cradling his wife Hinata Hyuuga in his arms. "More practice and he'll be able to carve masterpieces."

"As long as he doesn't take after his namesake I'll be happy with whatever he does," Hinata replied, smiling as she gave Naruto a soft kiss on the cheek. "And Kushina's Byakugan is coming along nicely."

"But of course," Naruto replied, grinning widely. "All she got from me was the hair, she has _your_ eyes."

"N-Naruto," Hinata blushed, hiding her face slightly. "More ramen?" she dipped her chopsticks into the nearby bowl, bringing them to his face.

"Do you even need to ask?" he answered cheerily, slurping the noodles clean off the extended chopsticks.

"They really do seem to be getting along together though," Temari remarked, leaning against Shikamaru, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Hatsune is growing into quite a desert rose, as I believe you called me once," she spoke teasingly to Shikamaru. "Are you sure watching them isn't too…troublesome?"

Shikamaru wrapped his own around her waist, each supporting the other as they savored the moment, a smirk present on his face gazing into his wife's eyes.

"Troublesome yes… but some things are worth it."

**Hope you liked it, if you love ShikaTema you should check out RamaChan, she's a genius at it! **


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